Sharjah 24 – AFP: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was embroiled Tuesday in another scandal over his government's alleged lockdown breaches, as police said they were investigating a Downing Street gathering to which over 100 people were invited.
In the latest in a string of such accusations, Johnson and others allegedly held a party in the garden of his official residence in May 2020 when all in-person socialising was outlawed.
An email leaked late Monday indicated that Martin Reynolds, a senior civil servant, invited more than 100 Downing Street colleagues to a party, which Johnson and his wife Carrie allegedly attended.
The potentially highly damaging revelations follow a series of similar claims which emerged last month about Downing Street parties held during later lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas in 2020.
They prompted Johnson to appoint another senior civil servant, Sue Gray, to investigate and she is now expected to expand her probe to cover the new allegations.
Meanwhile in a statement late Monday, London police said they were also making enquiries over potential breaches of the lockdown laws in relation to the May gathering.
"The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20, 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office," the force said.
Johnson has previously denied knowledge that any rules were broken in Downing Street during the pandemic, as he faced weeks of excoriating headlines over the previous allegations before Christmas.
But the latest accusations appear to directly contradict those claims.
The new claims drew a chorus of condemnation from political opponents and others, heaping fresh pressure on the embattled leader after a series of separate sleaze scandals.
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